Improvement in harvesters



ZSheets--S'hetL )OHN D. WILBER.

Improvement in Harvesters. Np.120,407, Patemdoct. 31,1871.

2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

JOHN D. WILBER.

Improvement in Harvesers. No. 120,407. Pa1en1ed0c1.31,1871.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN l). \VILBER, 0F ,POUGHKEEPSll NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T() EUREKAl\`l0\VER AND BEAVER MANUFAUTURlNG UOlllIANY, UF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specilication in'nling part of Letters Patent No. 120,407, dated October3l, 1871.

'To all whom `it may concern.:

Be it known that l, JOHN I). Winnen, ot' Poughkeepsie, in the county oi'Dutchess and State ot' New York, have invented certain novelImprovements in llarvesting-lllachincs5 and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a i'ull, clear, and exact description thereot', retercnm.bein had to the accompanying drawing makingl part ol' this spec4iiication, in whichlligure l, llate l, is a plan view ot' the improvedmachine, without the cutting :,ipparatus and driverls seat. Fig. 2,Plate l, is an elevation of the right-hand side of the machine. Fig..'5, Plate 2, is an elevation ot' the Rathaud side ot' the machine. Fig.,4, Vllate L', is an inside view ot' the lett-hand shoe, showing itscurved arm attached to it by a rocking eye and screw. Fig. 5, Plate 2,is a lwrspective View ot' a slotted supporting-and-lit'ting plate.

Similar lettersot' reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements on thereapingai1d-1nowing machine for which Letters Patent ot' the UnitedStates were granted to me bearing date respectively on the 10th day oi'FebruaryJSli, and on the 5th day oi' April, 1870, wherein the cuttingapparatus is applied on the ends, diverging arms extending out in frontot' a two-wheel drat'tt'rame.

The tbllowing description will enable others skilled in the art tounderstand my invention.

ln the accompanying drawing, A A represent two transporting wheels,which are applied on an axle, l5. U represents a broad platform forsustaining the drivers, which is connected loosely to the axle B bymeans oi' eye-bearings a a, and which forni..` a. rear expansion ot' thedraft-pole. All this has been fully explained in the schedules annexedto my Letters latent above ret'er ed to. 1') represents the rectangularframe o1' thc inachine, which is arranged bclowthe axle and connected toit by journal-boxes, so that it can oscillate freely. VBeyond the frontends of this trame extend two arms, E Ef, which are curved outward, andhave connected to their front ends two shoes, fj', which shoes areconnected together by means of a iinger-beam, 1*", as shown in thedrawing. The rear end ot' curved arm E is pivoted directly to the axleB, between the frame l) and hub oi" wheel A, and the frontend ot' thisarm is received into a recess made into the rear end ot' shoe f, andconnected to this shoe by a transverse pivot, m., which. will allow theshoe with the iinger-bar to rock freely. The rear pivoted minnectionofthe arm E allows its t'ront end to be raised or depressed at pleasure,as will be now explained. A downwardly-tlaring recess or slot, r, (seeFig. 2,) is made into the outer righthand side ot' framel), near itsfront end, and into the outer right-hand side ot' frame E, near itsi'ront end; and into this slot l is applied loosely a slotted stirrup,s, which is kept in place by the arm E, lying close alongside ot' theframe 1), and also by means of a suspension-chain, 7i', which isattached. to the upper end of said stirrnp, and also i'o a groovedsegulent-pulley, J, on a rockshat't, li. The segment J is fast on shafth, which latter is supported by standards rising from the platform U,and carries on its inner end next the driver a hand-lever, by which thedriver can rock the segment and raise or depress the stirrups s, atpleasure. 'lhc slot o, which is through the stirrup s, receives into ita pill, p, proieeting from the arm lil, which pin serves in a measure asa guide for the stirrup in its slot in frame D. The lower end of thestirrup is split centrally, and the ends s s turned in oppositedirections, as shown in Fig. f. The end .s extends beneath the frame l)and the end s2 extends beneath the arm E, so that while the shoe j' isallowed to rise and fall freely and independently oti the fran'ie l),still, whenever desired, this shoe, together with the entire cuttingapparatus, and also the front end oi' the frame l), can be raised bydrawing back the arm on shaft li. lt it is desired to have the arm E andframe D rigidly connected, this can be done by simply inserting a boltthrough holes .1', made for its reception. The arm E', on the lett-handside of the machine, is rigidly conneeted to the frame l), or it mayforni part ot' the frame. This arm E is loosely connected to a shoe,

j', the attachment being eii'eeted as follows: g

represents an eyebolt, the eye portion of which is inserted loosely intoa recess made transversely into the rear portion ofthe shoef, andconiined therein by means of a. pin, c. The end ot' arm E is rounded andapplied into a recess made into the inner side ot' the shoef, as shownin Fig. 4. 'lhe recess for the eyebolt and that for the end oiV` arm Efare slightly larger than the parts which are applied in them, so thatthese parts are allowed free rocking motions. The screw portion of theeyebolt g passes through the end of' arni E and receives a nut, t', onit. Ii' desirable, two eyebolt attachments may be employed. To the rearend of the couplingpin e a right-angular lever is attached, which ispivoted to arm E', and arranged in a convenient place to the attendanton his.seat. By means of the lever c and the rocking motions allowed theshoes and fingerbar, the attendant can give any desired degree of pitchto the cutters, according to the condition ofthe grass to be cut. Shouldit be desired, at any time, to pitch the cutting apparatus eitherdownward or upward and rigidly hold it in one or the other of thesepositions, this can be done by inserting a bolt into a hole, al, throughthe arm E', so that this bolt will either be below or above the pin e.The guides or directors b, for pressing the grass in toward the centerof the machine, are spring metal rods, the front ends ot' which areinserted into holes made into the elevated portions ot' the shoesj'j",and the rear ends of which are inserted into holes made into the caps tothe journal boxes of axle B. These rods b are of such length that theyrequire to be arched to be inserted or spring into their places, whicharch form they afterward retain, as shown in the drawinfl'. The rods bare held in their places by their own spring action tend' ing tostraighten them.

1t will be seen from the above description that the finger-bar isallowed, when desired, to rise and fall bodily, or to rise and descendat each end, so as to accommodate itself freely to the undulations ofthe surface passed over. Also, that the undulatory movement can beprevented whenever it is desired to have a rigid finger-bar. Also, thatthe attendant has complete control over the cutting apparatus so far asgiving the required pitch to it; at the same time, provision is made forlocking the linger-bar when pitched either downward or upward.

What 1 claim as my invention, and as an im provement in front-eutharvesters, and which l desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of arm E jointed to shoe j', and shoe j" Ijointed toarm E', substantially as described.

2. The stirrnps s, suspended by a chain, k, from a raising and loweringdevice, in combination with the Ljointed arm E and frame D, substantially as described.

XVitnesses:

L. F. GARDNER, ISAAC W. WHITE.

.JOHN D. WILBER.

